#for those who were wondering what piglin!Dream might look like

[justcallme-ange]

Week 4 - Mischief Night. For Loyal’s Rivals Duo Spooktacular event.

Neither will respond to their respective names.

Dream (Techno) won’t stop lamenting not having a house.

Techno (Dream) keeps talking about his fighting prowess.

Phil just wanted the knuckleheads to help him move things.

[krabmeat]

☊⏃⋏ ⟟ ⏚⟒ ⟒⋏⎅⟒⍀⋔⏃⋏ ⏃⋏⍜⋏? ⏃⋏⊬⍙⏃⊬⌇ ⋏⍜⍙ ⏁⊑⏃⏁'⌇ ⏃⌰⌰ ⍜⎍⏁ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍙⏃⊬. ☌⍜⎅ ⍀⟒⏃⎅⟒⍀ ☌⟒⏁⏁⟟⋏☌ ⍀⟒⎐⟟⎐⟒⎅ ⎍⋏⟒⌖⌿⟒☊⏁⟒⎅⌰⊬ ⏚⊬ ⎅⍀⟒⏃⋔? ⟟⏁'⌇ ⌰⟟☍⟒ - ⏃ ⍀⟒⏃⌰⌰⊬ ⏚⏃⎅⏃⌇⌇ ⏃⋏⏁⏃☌⍜⋏⟟⌇⏁ ☌⍜⎅ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ☌⟒⏁⌇ ⌿⎍⌰⌰⟒⎅ ⍜⎍⏁ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⎍⋏⎅⟒⍀⍙⍜⍀⌰⎅, ☊⏃⌰⌰⟟⋏☌ ⎅⍀⟒⏃⋔ ⏁⊑⟒⟟⍀ "⌇⏃⎐⟟⍜⎍⍀" (⏚⎍⏁ ⟟⋏ ⏃ ⋔⍜⍀⟒ ⌇⏃⏁⟟⍀⟟☊⏃⌰ ⍙⏃⊬ ⟟⋏⌇⏁⟒⏃⎅ ⍜⎎ ☌⟒⋏⎍⟟⋏⟒⌰⊬ ⌇⟒⟒⟟⋏☌ ⏁⊑⟒ ⋔⏃⌇☍⟒⎅ ⋔⏃⋏ ⏃⌇ ⏁⊑⟒⟟⍀ ⊑⟒⍀⍜ ☊⏃⎍⌇⟒ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌿⏃⌇⏁ ⏁⊑⟒⊬'⎐⟒ ⋔⍜⌇⏁ ⌰⟟☍⟒⌰⊬ ☊⏃⌰⌰⟒⎅ ⟒⎐⟒⍀⊬⍜⋏⟒ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⊑⟒⌰⌿⟒⎅ ⏁⊑⟒⋔ ⏁⊑⟒⟟⍀ ⋔⟟☌⊑⏁⊬ ⊑⟒⌰⌿⟒⍀ ⏁⍜ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌿⍜⟟⋏⏁ ⍙⊑⟒⍀⟒ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏁⟟⏁⌰⟒ ⎎⟒⟒⌰⌇ ⍜⎐⟒⍀⎍⌇⟒⎅ ⏃⋏⎅ ⎍⋏⎅⟒⌇⟟⍀⏃⏚⌰⟒). ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⍀⍜⏃⋔⟒⎅ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌰⏃⋏⎅⌇ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌇⋔⌿, ⏚⍀⟟⋏☌⟟⋏☌ ⏁⟒⍀⍀⍜⍀ ⏃⋏⎅ ⊑⟒⌰⌰⎎⟟⍀⟒ ⏃☊⍀⍜⌇⌇ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍜⎐⟒⍀⍙⍜⍀⌰⎅, ⌰⟒⏁⏁⟟⋏☌ ⏁⊑⟒⟟⍀ ☍⟒⌿⏁ ⟟⋏ ⍀⏃☌⟒ ⌇⏁⍀⍜⌰⌰ ⎎⍀⟒⟒. ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⟒⋏⎅ ⎍⌿ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏁⎍⋏⎅⍀⏃, ⏁⊑⟒ ⏚⎍⍀⋏⟟⋏☌ ⎎⌰⏃☍⟒⌇ ⍜⎎ ⏃⌇⊑⟒⌇ ☌⟒⏁⏁⟟⋏☌ ⌰⍜⌇⏁ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⊑⏃⍀⌇⊑ ⌿⟟⌰⟒⌇ ⍜⎎ ⌇⋏⍜⍙. ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⊑⏃⌿⌿⟒⋏⟒⎅ ⏁⍜ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⌇⏁⎍⋔⏚⌰⟒⎅ ⎍⌿⍜⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ☊⍜⏁⏁⏃☌⟒⌇ ⍜⎎ ⏁⍙⍜ ⟟⋔⋔⍜⍀⏁⏃⌰ ☌⍜⎅⌇ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⏁⊑⟒⊬ ⋔⏃⊬ ⍜⍀ ⋔⏃⊬ ⋏⍜⏁ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⎍⌇⟒⎅ ⏁⍜ ☍⋏⍜⍙. ⍙⍜⋏⎅⟒⍀ ⍙⊑⏃⏁'⌰⌰ ⊑⏃⌿⌿⟒⋏? ⟟ ⍙⍜⎍⌰⎅ ⌰⟟☍⟒ ⏁⍜ ⌇⟒⟒ ⊬⍜⎍⍀ ⏁⏃☍⟒ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟟⌇.

- ⟒⋏⎅⟒⍀⋔⏃⋏ ⏃⋏⍜⋏

𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚝

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: philza, techno, Wilbur,(next few only mentioned)Mexican dream, schlatt, dream

𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚜: they/them

𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: fire, death, arson, betrayal mention, being used, reference to drugs, slight cursing

𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜: translation vvvvv

Can i be enderman anon? anyways now that's all out of the way. God reader getting revived unexpectedly by dream? it's like - a really badass antagonist god that gets pulled out of the underworld, calling dream their "saviour" (but in a more satirical way instead of genuinely seeing the masked man as their hero cause in the past they've most likely called everyone that helped them their mighty helper to the point where the title feels overused and undesirable). They roamed the lands of the smp, bringing terror and hellfire across the overworld, letting their kept in rage stroll free. They end up in the tundra, the burning flakes of ashes getting lost in the harsh piles of snow. They happened to have stumbled upon the cottages of two immortal gods that they may or may not have used to know. Wonder what'll happen? i would like to see your take in this.

 - enderman anon

AHHH IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I DONT KNOW IF YOULL EVEN READ THIS STILL BUT TY FOR THE REQUEST IT ISNT THE BEST QUALITY IM SORRY :[[[

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You almost don't recognize the sensation of grass against your calloused and rough hands. You were in the void playing solitaire with Schlatt and Mexican Dream, and the next thing you knew you were suddenly pulled harshly by the back of your collar, falling on your spine. The looming mask of Dream is what stood above you, but he looked different. Longer hair, smelly, wearing a stained lime green jumpsuit with ‘0001' sewn into it and covered in cuts, scars and bruises. But before you could even question why Dream was suddenly there, he stepped back into the void, the void slowly surrounding and consuming him the further he went backwards. His now bony hand is still tightly gripped onto the back of your shirt, so while struggling your body is also enveloped in darkness. All it took was one blink and there you were on a patch of grass, staring at the pale blue sky.

"Huh."

Was all that came out of your mouth. You were still shocked at the turn of events that just happened, but no longer grounded. A running river nearby stunned your senses. How long had you been dead? It felt like years, but when you look around at the familiar forest you died in, not much had changed except for a couple newly planted saplings here and there. The swirling ashes you remembered before you died had all settled and compressed into the soil.

The river showed a strange reflection of yourself- your features have clearly sunken into your skull and there's a streak of white hair coming from your scalp along with words in fancy gold letters on your arm reading,

"May thy woes and hurt of the past no longer eradicate the upwards of this lost souls future. Allow thine to be praised by Ender themselves and be granted another chance at mortality."

Scrubbing or picking at your arm did nothing, so onwards you went walking along the forest to what you remember being a bustling "community".

Each mound of dirt you saw only brought memories of your death, of the place and people who sought to treat you like you were disposable. And now that you’re alive, you hate that they technically ended up being right. Your death; alone in a forest. Running away from the unexpected attacker, ashamed and too prideful to die in the prying eyes of your enemies. It fills you with rage, all the lives taken by your hands and for what? You weren’t overreacting, you knew that for sure. And before you knew it, you stole some fresh flint and steel from a random chest and got to work. 

You had always wanted to touch the fires you set. The soothing feeling you got from watching wood burn to char and ashes satisfied you. And it made it all the more euphoric to know it was trees of your manipulator's land. Running across the land, with flames as far as you could see when you looked behind you. The heat swirled around your neck and went into your nose, but the feeling was muscle memory at that point. You were still riding your high when a voice reached out to you, luckily when you were finally calm.

"What- Y/n? Hold on, is that really you Y/n..?"

You spin on your heels to the familiar manipulative British voice of a person you haven't seen in a long time. 

"Wilbur?! Man, I haven't seen another person's face other than those two addicts in a while- you look different." 

His eyes much like yours are sunken deep into his skull, purple-pink bags under his eyes and dull skin. Wilburs shocked lips fade into an opened mouth smile when he walks up to you with his hands momentarily confused on what they should do. Eventually, his right hand settles on clasping your left shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze.

“Y/n it is so good to see you! You look quite different yourself, wouldn’t you think-? Oh, look! We’re matching!”

The grey streak in your hair seems to make another appearance when Wilbur briefly smacks it with his middle and pointer finger. 

“Ay, it’s nice to see you too Wil, but back up for a second alright? I've got something to ask you by the way…”

Wilburs head peaks in interest, urging you to go on.

“I’m guessing that little streak in your hair wasn’t a fashion choice- and if it was it’s a bit strange- but how’d you get it? You died when you blew up L’manburg! I mean c'mon, people don’t just, well…REVIVE!”

He starts to walk. You aren’t quite sure where, but stumbling along with Wilbur while his arm is draped lazily atop your shoulders seems to suffice. 

“Ahh Y/n, you’d be surprised. The most WONDERFUL thing happened, actually! Years and years in my hell of a train station; do you know who was at the subway door when it finally opened, Y/n? Dream!”

��Wh- Dream?!”

Appalled, you try to stop in your tracks but fail when wilburs arm is still pushing forward. His storytelling voice dies down to curiosity and excitement.

“Wait, did he save you too? He did, didn’t he? Oh, this is wonderful!”

Wilbur emits eagerism and you suddenly realize what you could do with his desperacy to be socially accepted. Putting on the most exaggerated and animated voice, you speak. 

“Oh my god yeah! Gosh, that Dream guy is my hero! Thanks to him, I get to have another chance at living again, and isn’t that just…swell.”

In all honesty you didn’t really try hard to sound sincere but by the look of Wilbur, it seemed to work just fine. 

“Right?! I’ve been meaning to visit him in the prison if you’d like to tag along with me the day I go? I’m sure he’d love to see you, since he revived you and all.”

Oh, you were sure Dream wanted to see you. He wants a boon- a trade. Why else would he revive two of the most historically significant people on the server if not to make some sort of deal with them? Sure, Wilbur is as gullible and carefree as ever but you at least still had scraps of mental stability and level-headedness that made you all the more a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention Wilbur doesn’t know that Dream killed you, but telling him that now would blow your act. You decide to keep your thoughts to yourself.

“Yeahh, sure! I’d love to go, just tell me when.”

And that’s the end of that conversation. The two of you walk to wherever Wilbur is going. It honestly surprised you how he couldn’t see through your apathy. From what you remembered, he was keen on being wise about people and their intentions but you guess years and years in hell do things to a person.

Somehow, you’re stuck in your mind for long enough that only now do you feel the sharp winter air making the hairs on your arms and legs stand straight up. 

“Wait, snow?”

The tundra was a drastic contrast to the void you were once in with schlatt and Mexican Dream. Instead of black as far as you could see, it was a blinding powdery white. 

‘Mexican Dream would’ve liked it here, probably would have tried to snort the snow like coke.’

You weren’t built for the snow, though. Hell- you didn’t even have a memory of anyone living in a tundra when you were alive! Why was Wilbur even in the tundra? You didn’t have the energy to ask, still feeling brittle and tired, back aching from laying on the dry dirt longer than expected earlier. 

“Yeah, just figured I’d show you around! Plus I already need to grab a couple things from an ender chest and this was the closest by. I’m a very busy man, after all.”

But why were there so many footprints in the snow? As far as you knew, Wilbur was the only one who lived out in the tundra- and he didn’t seem like the active type at all. There were strange shapes as well, large hooved footprints. However, all thinking comes to a halt at the same time Wilbur does.

“We’re here! You might see some familiar faces cause I live with people.”

Well, that answers the footsteps as well as the tall red-caped piglin hybrid giving leftover bones and raw meat to a polar bear.

“TECHNO! TECHNO, HEY!”

He tenses up for a second, you could tell he wanted to be left alone but that didn’t really bother Wilbur. But you recognize him. The name and the apparel- that guy is Technoblade. The same Technoblade who stood by your side while the two of you blew L’manburg up for the last time, and now the Technoblade who resides in a cottage shrouded in snow.

“Technoblade?!”

Hearing your voice being carried by the crisp winter air, he turns around immediately to see you and Wilbur a few feet away. Techno stood there dumbfounded, but he didn’t know why. He wasn’t particularly joyed or ecstatic to see you, but he was at the very least happy to see an old ally back. 

“Y/n? Oh my god, now we’ve got TWO of you? We don’t have room for another one, alright?”

For some it might be hard to see the meaning behind his words. Luckily you’ve talked to him enough to where you can tell he’s being playful.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just build directly on top of your house. Besides, who WOULDN'T want to be near me 24-7?”

“Me-“

“Oh f*ck off.”

You would’ve thought that that was Wilbur due to the similar accent, but there was something off. The slight gruffness and age, yet still succeeding in sounding mellow.

“Phil! How’s my favorite old bird doing?”

He gives you a face. Not a happy one like you expected, rather a face that says ‘really?’ Probably because of the old comment. The two of you briefly hug, Phil’s tattered wings stretching out slightly.

“I’m doing alright, are you okay? Here, would you like to come in? It’s pretty cold outside, you probably haven’t seen snow in a couple years.”

He wasn’t wrong after all. You were freezing your toes off and were itching for lemon tea. The kind Phil used to make when he, Technoblade and Dream discussed plans on destroying L’manburg. Ah, the good ol days…

“Of course! We’ve got a lot to talk about- you still have that old chess board?”

“Yes, but first you have some explaining to do about the fire over in that tree, Y/n. You just got back and you’re already burning down forests?!”

“Did someone say fire?”

Techno has an eager stride in his step once he also looks back to see the raging lights of orange and red in the nearby forest.

“Don’t worry Phil! It’s just- ahh, a controlled burn..?”

Your tone of voice is unsure when a black crow shoots down from the sky into the snow in front of you. It’s left wing is charred and has smoke dancing from the burn. Philza looks at you with a stern glare.

“Oh my f*cking god…that’s it! We’re all going inside now, you too Techno. I don’t want you and Y/n going on a rampage.”

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (March 9/2021) - Roses and Blood Vines

One day remains before Ponk’s attack. Ponk gives Foolish another warning, another chance to join the Egg. Foolish still says no.

Hannah returns from a five-day journey feeling sickened by something. The Blood Vines have crept onto her house... 

Something has to be done.

---

VOD LINKS:

Ponk

Tubbo

Foolish

Ranboo

Hannah

Karl

Eret

Captain Puffy

---

- Ponk makes his way through the Nether to the Temple of Undying. He surveys the place, wondering what to blow up first.

- He scouts through the chests, taking some diamonds here and there.

- Ponk places a few pieces of TNT in Foolish’s snake statue as a warning and heads back.

- Foolish joins the call, Ponk now at the Oogway Shrine.

Ponk: “Foolish...you know that time is ticking, right?”

Ponk: “Are you familiar with the hourglass parable?”

Foolish: “No, I am not.”

Ponk: “Me neither, but an hourglass has lots of sand in it, right?”

- Ponk starts talking through the Egg

“Hello, Foolish...the time is ticking...blood, fire and explosions will happen. You’re going to die, Foolish, if you don’t join me. DEATH.”

Foolish: “You speak of my summer home?”

“Your summer home will be no more.”

Foolish: “We’ll see about that.”

“Tick-tock goes the clock.”

- Ponk abruptly switches back to his normal voice and starts talking to Foolish about that scene in Kung Fu Panda where Oogway paralyzes the leopard guy  by poking him, and the leopard guy broke out of prison to defeat the five people

- Foolish asks if there’s a meaning to this. Ponk tells him he stole all of his music discs and put TNT in their place.

- Ponk says to be careful about the tripwires he put. Foolish says that with his emerald eyes, he will see through them.

- They go back and forth about preparations and Ponk’s plan. Ponk tries to convince Foolish that actually, he already blew it up (he didn’t)

Ponk: “Look, Foolish...I’m here to offer you another chance, okay? You can join the Egg, be a happy family, y’know? You can be a god, but you have to serve the Egg...”

Foolish: “You see, Ponk, I think the Egg will lead to heartbreak. Misery. Regret. And then death.”

Ponk: “Remember, Foolish, remember...you can never save a life. You can always prolong it.”

Foolish: “I might disagree with that...but that’s for another time.”

- They get distracted by Skeppy’s prank on the mansion

- Ponk goes to an Ender Chest and shows Foolish its contents. Foolish is outraged that Ponk actually took all his discs -- even Pigstep!

- Ponk shows Foolish the Wall of Pog Women

- The subject goes back to the Egg. Ponk asks again if he wants to join the Egg. Foolish says no.

Foolish: “I don’t think the Egg is good for anyone, and you know? The Egg may not even need you guys! The moment the Egg has enough power, it’ll toss you all aside like the little ants you are.”

- They start talking about cats

- Ponk meets Foolish down at the spider spawner and attempts his Technoblade-killing tactic on him.

- Ponk continues to prepare

- Foolish is still working on Tubbo and Ranboo’s mansion

- He goes to see Michelle in Snowchester. He ponders how strange their family is. A sheep pirate, a totem-part-shark and his totem son, an undead zombie piglin baby, the other brother -- a green blob?

“Nice meeting you, Michelle...um, yeah. Hopefully you never meet Dream.”

“...Just your average Minecraft family...”

(More “Schrödinger’s canon” family dynamics for now, but this is the moment the Wiki is referencing if you were wondering)

- Foolish continues work on the mansion

- Hannah heads back to the main Dream SMP area

- She’s been trying to make the server more beautiful, adding trees, flowers, natural things. But she was off picking flowers for the main pathway when she woke up with extreme nausea. She could barely walk.

- It’s finally time. Something is pulling her back.

Hannah: “It’s definitely time to bring spring to the server. This server is so, so messed up. There’s not enough trees, there’s not enough flowers, there’s not enough anything, especially in the main area."

- The only thing keeping her strong -- alive -- are the rose flowers. It took her two days to find the strength to walk back.

- Hannah starts planting flowers everywhere. The pathway is deteriorated, there are no trees, no flowers, not enough natural fauna that weren’t planted by the people. Her flowers have been picked and turned to dye by people. She needs more flowers to stay strong.

- She sees her house has been covered in Blood Vines. She suspects the Blood Vines have been eating up some of her rose flowers. All of it has to go. She doesn’t know who or what this is, but she believes it’s trying to kill her.

- Sam (and Tubbo disguised as Ranboo) arrive, and Hannah speaks with Sam about her house. Sam was coming to clean up the bank site.

- Sam helps Hannah start to clear off the Vines.

- A cow gets in the way. Hannah says it must be contaminated and kills it.

- All of a sudden, Sam shouts to not break anymore. Hannah looks and Bad and Antfrost have arrived.

- Bad says he thought Hannah was a supporter of plants. They don’t see why Hannah needs to clear the Vines away. Hannah and Sam insist they’re just trimming, doing some landscaping because Hannah is allergic.

- Bad and Ant suggest testing? They can take Hannah to a place with a large concentration of Vines and see if they have any effect. 

- Hannah says she’s willing to try. Sam tells Hannah he can’t go down there again. They tell Bad and Ant -- Hannah will try it while Sam takes a trip to the Nether. Sam whispers to Hannah that while they’re gone, Sam is going to clear the rest of the Vines in secret.

- Bad and Antfrost admire the Vines in Hannah’s house. Even the dogs seem to like it. Hannah promptly kills the dogs to put them out of their misery.

- Bad and Antfrost take Hannah down to the Egg Room. Hannah puts down a rose to help, but they destroy it. They tell her that the Egg likes her.

- They make her a “seat” (box) of black concrete and say she should stay there for “exposure therapy.”  They convince her to put her items in an Ender Chest even as she’s having doubts, and leave her alone there. 

- Hannah thought she had no enemies on this server, but she may have made a mistake.

- Karl wakes up in his library. He hangs up the poster for “The Haunted Mansion” and writes the Tale down.

- He writes his next diary entry. He feels confused. He doesn’t know who to trust anymore. At least the Inbetween seems like a genuinely peaceful place, but there were those books warning him about it.

- He decides he needs to get into that portal the next time he visits the Inbetween.

- His memory is getting worse. He needs to tell his friends the stories, but worries he won’t have any at this rate.

- Bad and Sapnap arrive to Kinoko. Karl wants to get new members.

- Sapnap kills Bad, sending him back.

Bad: “What have I told you about playing with fire there, son?”

- Karl plans to spread out advertisements about Kinoko.

- Foolish and HBomb arrive.

- They go to the Holy Land to put up posters.

- George arrives and they all decide to put up a massive poster in front of the prison, where the mining fatigue will make the blocks harder to get rid of. Bad protests this as a prison guard.

- They do it anyway

---

Upcoming events remain the same.

[lord-of-gender]

A Small Problem - Part 2

Once again my inspiration comes from @deyageka

Word count: 1960

Syndicate Meeting

"Perhaps if we-" Phil was saying as Ranboo came into the meeting room, with Tommy right at his heels. It had been two months since they originally found him in the prison and Ranboo had volunteered to watch him that day, completely forgetting about the meeting. He knew he didn't have to come, but it was a good excuse to finally tell them about Tommy.

"Hi, sorry I'm late," Ranboo said awkwardly, knowing the other explanation that he would have to give.

"Hallo!" Tommy said cheerily, moving to stand next to Ranboo, some paper and coloring pigments in his arms.

"What the actual fuck," Phil said, he did a double take when he saw Tommy.

"Heh!?" Techno exclaimed, of all the things he expected, a young Tommy was not on the list. "How?! I thought you said he was dead."

"No, no, no, don't tell me that's Tommy," Niki said, shaking her head.

"Yes, he did die, but Dream revived him," Ranboo said, shifting from foot to foot, "I think that's what happened. Sam found him in the prison like this."

"So that's why you asked me, Tommy couldn't keep his mouth shut," Phil muttered, talking about when Ranboo asked about the old Empire. He knew Ghostbur wouldn't have remembered it, or else he would have mentioned it to him.

"I'm the Empire-er," Tommy went up to Techhno and held up a wooden sword, he also wore the paper crown he made. "Like you."

"Be quiet," Techno growled, Tommy backed away, this wasn't the Technoblade he remembered. The boy ran over to Ranboo and buried his head in his shirt. Ranboo could feel his shirt start to get wet as Tommy started to cry. What had he done wrong? Why was Techno mad at him?

"Oh my gosh, Tommy are you okay," Ranboo knelt down to Tommy's level, taking out a cloth so he wouldn't get wet from the boy's tears.

"Tech-no does-n't like me," Tommy sobbed, sniffling between words.

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true," Ranboo said, he looked back at Phil and Niki, silently asking them for help. "He's just surprised to see you."

"I just want Wilbur," Tommy said, his cries starting to die down and reduce to hiccups. "Sam pwomised he would find him."

"He doesn't know," Phil asked, at this age Tommy had idolized Techno and Wilbur. He followed Techno around everywhere and wanted to know everything about him.

"Know, what," Tommy sniffed, using his sleeve to wipe off mucus. "What don't I know?"

"A few months ago," Phil came over and crouched in front of Tommy. "Something happened and-"

"It might be better to find Gho-Wilbur first to tell him," Techno said, the voices had been telling him one of two things. To protect Tommy as all costs, or to kill Tommy for being an orphan. "Who's watching him? Or is he an orphan?"

"I- uh- Sam is mainly taking care of him, so no, he's not an orphan," Ranboo stuttered, knowing a bit of Techno's history with orphans.

"I mean last time I checked I wasn't fucking dead," Phil chuckled, Niki started giggling.

"So what's the plan for today," Ranboo asked, he picked up Tommy as the boy kept pulling on his shirt.

"We're going to do some recon on the Egg," Techno said, "Phil received an invitation to some banquet so we're going to check it out beforehand."

"So I probably shouldn't have brought him," Ranboo said, talking about Tommy as he started to nod off.

"Can't we take him to Snowchester," Phil said, subtly asking if Tommy could stay with Micheal.

"I don't know, Tubbo's not going to be there for a while. He and Jack are busy doing something," Ranboo didn't know what it was there were doing, but it seemed important to Tubbo. And he didn't want Sam to get mad at him for leaving Tommy alone for a little bit.

"He'll be fine alone," Phil said, "We used to do that all the time when he was originally this age."

"You are a terrible parent," Ranboo said.

"Okay mate," Phil rolled his eyes, "you can't be speaking here. Especially not about that shit."

"I wanna stay here," Tommy piped in.

"We could talk to Puffy on our way," Techno said.

"Auntie Puffy!" Tommy said excitedly, bouncing in Ranboo's arms. At the mention of Puffy he had brightened up and got energetic again.

"I guess we have our answer then," Niki laughed.

"Are you good to stay here by yourself for a bit," Ranboo asked. Tommy shook his head and pointed at Niki, she seemed nice.

"Huh, he didn't mind staying home when I took care of him," Phil said.

"Well we think he might have vague memories of what happened in his past," Ranboo lowered his voice and put Tommy down to let him walk over to Niki. "Sometimes he'll just freeze when coming near lava or even a Nether Portal. We've noticed that most of the time he hates being alone."

"I want to stay wif you," Tommy said to Niki.

"I don't know, Puffy and I don't have the greatest history," Niki said, then looked down at Tommy's face as he started to pout. "But I can't say no to you. You are absolutely adorable. Okay, just this once."

"Go now," Tommy waved at them as he sat in the chair next to Niki.

"He does that alot," Ranboo chuckled, "see you later, Tommy."

"Okay Ranboo," Tommy pulled out Clementine from his inventory and made airplane noises as he moved it in the air. Ranboo, Techno, and Philza left the meeting room as Niki laughed with Tommy.

"I haven't seen him like that since," Phil started but trailed off.

"Well of course not, he's a little kid again," Ranboo said.

"Pogtopia," Techno finished for Phil, "he has that light in his eyes again. I remember when we were building that big obnoxious tower, but it made him happy."

"How long had Tommy been with you," Ranboo asked.

"I found him when he was four or five," Phil said, "Wilbur is my only biological son. I adopted Tubbo when he was five as well."

"It's still weird seeing Tommy at that age again," Techno said.

"Yeah, I can't imagine how much of a shock it was when I brought him in there," Ranboo said, he should have thought about it beforehand.

"Oh we were surprised for sure," Philza laughed.

After the trip through the Nether to the community portal they found Bad, Ant, and Punz waiting right outside of the portal. How were they supposed to tell Puffy now?

"Hello, Philza," Punz said, "I didn't think you'd only have two people coming with you."

"Our fourth member is on her way," Techno said, "don't try and threaten us. We have all the power here."

"Ranboo, go talk to Puffy," Phil whispered to him. "Gentlemen, there's no need to fight. We were just curious about the meaning of this invitation I received."

"Ah yes, the banquet," Ant said, "the egg has realized it over stepped a bit, so we've been cleaning up some of the vines and are holding a festival of sorts as a formal apology to the server. You are all invited, we just wanted Phil as a guest of honor."

"Well I'm pretty sure the last time I went to a festival, it didn't turn out well," Techno chuckled, but the voices had raised a good question. Why Phil?

"We swear it won't end like those," Bad said, "I mean we aren't L'Manburg after all."

"Maybe Techno would be more convinced if we saw this change ourselves," Phil said as he spotted Puffy coming towards them, then messaged Niki. Ranboo rejoined the group.

"Of course," Bad said turning around, allowing Puffy to go around them then enter the Nether.

"So uh, where's Skeppy," Ranboo asked, he'd heard from Sam that he had also been infected. "I haven't seen him around recently."

"We don't know," Punz said, "haven't seen him in a while."

"So when you say everyone is invited, who does this include," Phil asked, if they invited the whole server this could be a problem. Tommy couldn't just be left alone for a few hours, but the last thing they wanted was to take him near the Egg.

"Well everyone, except for Dream of course," Bad said, "but alot have said they'll be busy and unable to make it." They walked along the prime path where huge vines used to be, it appeared that they had been cleaned up. Soon Niki caught up with then.

"So what's going on," She asked, holding a cheerful expression to disguise the fact they were hiding something.

"We were just telling them about the banquet," Bad said, "you're coming, right Niki?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it," She said.

Something about the banquet and how similar it was to the L'Manburg festivals didn't sit right with Techno. To make matters worse he had just received a message from Quackity.

"I have to do something, you guys can fill me in when we get back," Techno said, he noticed Phil's questioning expression. "Don't worry it has nothing to do with my favor."

"See you later Techno," Ranboo said, he had been wondering the same thing but didn't want to say anything.

"Yeah, I'll say hi to the kid for you," Techno said. It was a throw away comment, but it seemed to interest Bad.

"Kid?" He asked, after checking that Techno was out of hearing range Ranboo responded with: "Yeah, me and Tubbo adopted."

"Oh, you mean Michael," Bad said, he'd heard about the young zombie piglin.

"We were going to Snowchester afterwards," Phil said, easily going along with Ranboo's lie.

"Yeah! You know, every member is important," Niki said, she had no idea who they were talking about, but she could use what they had said to play along.

“Well we should probably let you guys do that,” Bad said, he wasn’t sure if it was time to show them the Egg. No, it wasn’t, they had enough evidence from them to go to the banquet.

“Yes, you’re right,” Ranboo was getting uneasy, he didn’t like anything about the Egg or the Eggpire.

“See you the 25th!”

[halorocks1214]

Wilbur has always been able to feel those he considered family from the other side. He assumed it was Life’s way of punishing him after, well, everything.

He felt the crushing guilt that hung over his father. It stabbed into him like Phil did, only ten times worse. He felt the way Fundy’s rage simmered into resignation and apathy at being ignored once more like a burning hot fire, making Wilbur almost scream from the sensation, only to feel something akin to an ice bucket being dumped over his head immediately after.

He strangely felt less and less from Technoblade as time went on, and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. The last time he really received something from the piglin was roughly around his attempted execution, and what a way to send him off. Wilbur thought actually being physically flattened would hurt less.

And then there was Tommy. Oh, Tommy, who’s chest ached after nights of nothing but sobbing in exile; the way he went temporarily blind every time the TNT went off so close to him made it feel like needles went through Wilbur’s eyes. The musician didn’t even want to get into how he almost literally became a statue when Tommy trailed his way through the Arctic (and almost failed) before randomly stumbling into a heated cabin.

Schlatt was the one who told him Tommy was locked in the jail with Dream, made a simple joke about how the kid would last only about a day, and that was being generous.

Wilbur socked him right across the jaw.

Other than that, it’s been relatively peaceful. Wilbur even started to let his guard down, content with the idea that Tommy would eventually make it out. He might need ten times more therapy than he already did, and the whole thing about the hotel was going to suck, but the kid would be alive to handle it. Wilbur should have realized the universe wasn’t done punishing him just yet.

He was off by himself when it happened, sudden spots of extreme pain dotting his chest in various places. It was like he was being punched, no, beaten, practically. He collapsed onto his knees, bringing his hands up to his chest to claw at his clothes as he gasped desperately for air. The punches suddenly became multiple knives stabbing him, and Wilbur briefly wondered if it was possible to die twice. He was on the verge of blacking out when a desperate, young voice pleaded.

“Dream PLEASE I’M ON HALF A HEART-”

Then, nothing.

Wilbur could almost feel his lungs collapse at the lack of pain that suddenly hit him, followed by something more whole filling it’s place. Like literally none of that just happened. No, no fucking, way, the last time he felt this ‘whole’ feeling was when Schlatt felt it at the same time before that weirdo with a Mexican flag on his face dropped in on the dead presidents randomly.

Clutching at his chest, Wilbur looked around rapidly in pure panic. He was being stupid. He was freaking out over nothing. He would run like a chicken with its head cut off for who knew how long before Schlatt laughed at him for being such a dumbass, and then everything would go back-

Wilbur would have preferred Phil keeping him alive on the 16th rather than what he finally laid his eyes on. 

Tommy, his precious, blue-eyed child floated in front of him, covered in dried spots of blood and various bruises. Tear tracks stained his face like scars, “Hey, Wilby, fancy seeing you here, innit?”

The brunette shattered inside.

Before either other them could process it, Wilbur practically leaped forward to wrap his arms around his brother- son- someone who deserved much better than what life had thrown at him at the very fucking least. Wilbur felt himself start to tremble as one of his hands snaked its way into the curly blond locks, purely so he could bring the younger one closer into his protective embrace. 

Maybe he could squeeze this vision in front of him out of existence, or- or shoo it away, even. Tommy was fine- he was fine- he was stuck in a shitty cell with an even shittier person but he was still alive-

Tommy could only bring his hands around Wilbur’s waist in a sort-of-hug, still kind of unsure how to fully take in what just happened. His words were quiet, full of hurt, as if getting hugged by Wilbur again hurt just as much as Dream’s fists, “Remember when you told me “I’ll see you soon” Big Dubs? Yeah, sorry I took so long.”

Wilbur felt tears rapidly trail down his face. It was real; Tommy was dead.

“I wish you took longer.”

[rainbowtransform]

Neither Of Us Will Be Missed

OKAY! Chpater Two is here, up and running! Thank you for reading, thanks for listening, thanks for reblogging and liking! :D

He climbs the trees and the leaves rustle as he settles. The trees are one of the most important parts of hiding from Hunters, and even though Dream’s Hunters usually know his tricks and could try to cut him off, these one don’t seem to. Cat jumps onto the tree and slips off, falling on his feet.

Shame, come Dream’s thought, unbidden. If Cat broke his leg, then he’d be out of the running for the Jump at least. They’d have to leave him behind. Then again, Flame came after Dream with a broken wrist a couple Jumps ago. There’s no way to judge when they’d leave behind a teammate, or when a teammate will let themselves be left behind. 

But if Dream keeps jumping in the trees and if he shakes enough leaves, they’ll think that he can’t be silent in the trees.

(Hide, right now. Dream, hide, hide, hide)

He manages to look through his inventory again, and he rips another loaf of bread and chucks it overhead. The Hunters’ eyes snap toward where the bread dropped and Dream holds his breath. They end up going that way, and Dream sneaks toward the right. 

The first time they’d Jumped was when Dream was killed the First Time. He’d been sent right into a grassy plain, empty except for a sleeping Hunter next to him. Dream had nothing with him, no food, no supplies, nothing. The Hunter looked the same way, but Dream didn’t stick around long enough to exanime it.

Dream had set off running. A sleeping Hunter wouldn’t be sleeping for long, and even though it took the Hunter a long time (maybe three months? Maybe two? Dream couldn’t remember) to Hunt and Kill him, Dream won’t let it happen a second time.

(He survives this one for almost a year. He sees how desperate the Hunter gets and how reckless he gets as well. Dream watches as the Hunter steps into lava for the upteempth time, trying to get to him, seething silently.

Dream called him ‘Flame’ afterward.)

--------------------------------------------------------

He ends up by a river and he looks through his inventory again, searching for a water bottle or something to fill up. There’s nothing and Dream clicks his tongue. That’s not good. But it isn’t the first time he hasn’t had anything.

Why do you have Netherite? Only Hunters get it.

Dream shrugs it off. Hunters are usually the only ones who get Netherite, but then again, ever since they’ve entered the Jump, they’ve always been set back to the beginning. Dream swims across the river, all the while wondering why the Jump suddenly wants them all to have Netherite.

It’s weird, Dream decides. But the Jumps are all weird and Dream’s nothing if he doesn’t take it in stride. When Dream makes it to the other side, he climbs out, shivering. The air’s cool, and Dream takes a deep breath, feeling the cold air. Winter, Dream thinks.

It’s almost winter. 

The Jumps always start in Spring.

The Jumps… always start in spring.

--------------------------------------------------------

“Is he really not ours?”

“Yes! See the mask? Ours is more chipped, plus there’s no scar on his hand. See?” And here his hand’s yanked forward, and flipped this way and that, and he’s annoyed.

“Can he break it?”

“Break what?”

“The curse? The Reset?” 

“What the fuck is that?”

“Every time Mask kills a dragon, it resets him. Or every time we kill him.”

“Yeah, sure,” he says. “So what or why are you looking for this ‘mask’?”

“He helped a traitor escape.” Bad says. “Emperor Schlatt deemed him an accomplice and sent us to get him.”

“But if we knew what he was, we wouldn’t have even taken the job.” George claims, setting down a piece of bread into Dream-who-isn’t-Dream’s hands. 

“What is he?” He asks, tearing the bread into little pieces and eating it like that. 

“He’s a Marked.”

--------------------------------------------------------

Dream falters when he comes to a huge hole in the ground and things are built on stilts. There’s a bunch of houses, but Dream sees balconies and second stories. 

If he gets caught, he can jump from one place to the other; and the roof’s always a good option as well. He’s debating it when someone’s hand sits itself on his shoulder.

He grabs the hand and throws the person over his shoulder and slams him into the ground. A man with green and white hat and green clothing stares up at him.

“Hey,” Philza Minecraft, the World’s first Hardcore-born child says. “Whatcha doing here, mate?”

--------------------------------------------------------

Dream read and heard all about Philza back when he was younger. His mother would sit him down and read him stories about how Philza used to build big things in his world, and how he’d fought two dragons! 

She even told him about how all Hardcore-born children were sent to live in a normal world until they were old enough to realize that once you die in Hardcore, you’re dead. (By that point, many of the children never wanted to return to their Home Worlds), and Hardcore Worlds began to die out.

Philza Minecraft was born and hidden from people who searched for children to send away. How his parents didn’t want their child to be sent away from them, and how so they hide him deep underground. (The older generation had wings that they, apparently, grew themselves. Philza’s parents figured out how)

Hardcore is a hard place to raise children, but it’s even harder to raise a child privately. But at the same time, Hardcore is where wings are grown and minds are sharpened. Philza’s mind was as sharp as can be when his wings were just starting to form on his back. 

“He loved to fly, just like someone else I know,” Dream’s mother would tell him, holding Dream close to her chest as she rocked him. “And he wouldn’t stop flying, not even when his parents begged and pleaded.”

“What happened to him?” Dream asked fuzzily.

His mother hummed. “He didn’t die,” she said. “But some say his wings got clipped and he no longer could fly. Instead, he decided to settle down and adopt three children. Technoblade,”

“A rival,” Dream sleepy calls him, and Puffy laughs so hard, he almost gets up. 

“Technoblade, a rival and so called ‘Blood God,’” she agreed. “Wilbur Soot, self-proclaimed musician and lyric lover. And TommyInnIt, a child who had seen too much in the tiniest amount of time.”

Dream laughs a bit. “He’s a kid?”

“A teenager by now,” Puffy tells him. “You really like listening to these myths huh?”

“They aren’t myths,” Dream says. “They’re real, aren’t they?”

Puffy chuckles. “Of course, duckling,” she said. “As long as you believe in them, then I’m sure they’re just as real as I am to you. Right?”

“It’s a belief thing, right Mom?” Dream asks. Puffy ruffles his hair and begins rocking him and humming a song he hasn’t heard in a long time. Dream falls asleep to his mother’s humming and thinking about a family of four.

(And somewhere else, a hand grabs a teenager’s and helps him climb out of a ditch. A man with wings big enough to keep four boys underneath them blinks. “I’ll see if I can scout out a place,” he says.

“I’ll come with,” a piglin hybrid tells him. 

“Okay, son. Tommy, Wilbur. You two stay here, and make sure we’ve got something to eat when we get back, okay?”

“Got it, Dad.” Tommy says before grabbing Wilbur’s arm and beginning to tug it.)

--------------------------------------------------------

“Is it true?” Dream blurts out, and Philza looks back at him when they’re safely in his home.

“Is what true?” Philza asked, hands on his hips.

“That you were the first Hardcore child in millions of years,” Dream gestures wildly to the wings tucked tight against Philza’s spine.

“Uh, no?” Philza said. “Who told you that?”

“My… my mom,” Dream mumbled and Philza laughs. 

“Moms say a lot of things,” he says before checking out the window again. “Techno told me you might be coming.”

And Dream stops breathing.

--------------------------------------------------------

“Marked are people with magical ability,” Sapnap says, roasting a rabbit over the fire he’d made. “They can do basically anything if they really set their minds to it. Philza Minecraft’s a Marked ‘cause he can fly, you know? Technoblade is because he can Shapeshift; so’s TommyInnIt who can make anyone attached to him like a sort of family thing? And Wilbur Soot can use his Words to destroy someone from the inside out.”

“Dream’s pretty powerful,” Ant says, pinning up some laundry to dry. “He created the End Realm, you know? It wasn’t anything until he’d somehow did something and made it occupied with dragons, eggs, and those Endermen things. We think he started the Jumps too.”

“If we kill him permanently,” Bad says. “Then the Jump will stop, and we’ll all start going back to normal.”

“How long have you been trapped here?”

Bad takes a deep breath, and so does George. Ant and Sapnap don’t even glance up before George says, in a low, low voice “We’ve been doing this for twenty years.”

--------------------------------------------------------

“Breathe,” Philza says, slapping him on the back. “I won’t turn you in. You’re acting weird, but that’s just normal.”

“I don’t think I belong here,” Dream blurts out. Philza stops and turns to look at him. 

“What do you mean?” He asks.

And Dream spills everything. This is Philza Minecraft. He’d know what to do, if anything. (He even talks about how the Jumps work, and how it’s whenever he died or when the dragon dies, but never when the Hunters die, and Philza’s eyes light up.)

He takes a moment, and looks carefully at Dream, and then rearranges his wings (which look burned out, with holes in them and Dream can’t help but think: that shouldn’t be there.)

He looks away for a moment, thinking back to his childhood memory of big fluffy wings that can wrap kids around in them, powerful enough to fly so high in the sky while holding onto his children, and then Philza’s unfurling his wings.

And they look perfect. And Phil looks over at him, and something clicks in his head.

“Oh, mate,” Philza tells him. “You’re the reason the Jumps started.”

Dream’s silent. His hands shake, and he says, in a completely emotionless voice: “What?”

--------------------------------------------------------

@theseventhreincarnation [;)]

[votederpycausemufins]

I finally know how this thing is going to end, but it might go over 30 chapters. Whoops! This chapter could also be longer, but I wanted a bit of a cliffhanger.

@petrichormeraki @helleborusangel

“That isn’t fair! I found him so you have to keep up your end of the deal!” Grifter yelled at Death, but he barely reacted.

“That wasn’t the agreement.”

“The agreement was I was supposed to find out what happened to Theseus, and I did that! He kidnapped the wels version of his admin and revived Nightmare and it backfired. He screwed up and you wanted to know how he was doing, so I brought him here so he wouldn’t fucking die without you around. So, now you know what happened, how he’s doing, and I kept him safe. That’s like, three times what you wanted. Now uncurse my husband or you won’t be death anymore.”

Death glared at Grifter. “I thought you said you weren’t after that.”

“I said I wasn’t going to try and kill you for your power because now I have Sense, but if you cursed him so I can’t easily be around him, that’s gone. If you’re not planning to reverse the curse, then I’m going to get something out of it.” Grifter smiled at then pulled out a crossbow. “Now, you’re going to uncurse Sense, or you won’t be around much longer.”

“You still need to finish your end of the bargain.”

Grifter froze, his brain trying to comprehend what had been said before he growled in anger. “We just fucking covered I already did and more! I don’t need to do anything more!”

“Part of it was making sure Theseus was safe. You haven’t done that. He may have moved to a new dimension, but he refuses to officially unlink himself from Nightmare’s world. Nightmare, in his hubris, has decided to try and claim his wels dimension world in his current revived state. I don’t think I need to tell you what will happen if he fails, and at this point, he will.”

“So I need to keep the bastards alive, sure. Is that all?” Grifter sneered, crossing his arms.

“Not quite.I would prefer Nightmare dead, but no one will take his title, so Theseus will just try again with no one stopping him.” Death explained. “Listeners are quite powerful on their own and can link worlds, so you wouldn’t lose Sense, but I’m sure your kids would love to meet their family.”

Grifter rolled his eyes. “Like they would want to meet Wile and Euro. They’re only still alive since you keep them from dying. They’re too cowardly to do anything right.” Death glared at Grifter, who scoffed. “Fine, whatever. I guess they might like Fleur and Sadie. At the very least trying setting it up for me while I’m gone. I’m gonna be busy backing up the wels world before I do anything.”

“I can agree to that.”

“Oh, and can you pause the curse while I deal with Nightmare? It might be the only chance for us to do something so fun and I don’t want to miss out on that opportunity.”

Death glared before answering. “If you stop on your job, it’ll kill him, but sure, I can do that.”

“That’s great!” Grifter smiled, bouncing a little. “I’ll just make a little stop and then I’ll start! See you soon enough!” He started to walk off, but then paused to turn back to death slightly. “Oh, and remember to warn Euro. We don’t want him exploding again!”

.

.

.

The moment Grian was in the SMP, he started using his Watcher magic to look around. At the very least, it didn’t look like Grifter was around. It should have been obvious with his name not on the comms list, but if he had messed with the list before, he could have done it again. Fortunately that wasn’t the case.

Next he did what he could to find Grum, which was pretty easy. Grian already had a bit of tracking for Grum on his comm, and while before it wouldn’t have been enough to really help in another world, the fact that he could also track Watcher energy made it work. He was a little concerned that it felt weak, but he hadn’t really noticed it in the past, so likely Grum didn’t have much in the first place.

Either way, he knew where Grum was now, so he started flying that way. Grian wasn’t sure exactly what he would find there, so he got his sword ready for the worst case scenario. When he landed at the quartz mansion, he tried to be as quiet as possible. Peeking through a window, he couldn’t see anyone around, which was concerning. At least the demon should have still been there. This was his home, wasn’t it?

“Hey, what are we doing at the window?” someone spoke as they stood behind Grian, making the avian’s wings puff up before he whirled around and pointed the sword at. 

“Wil? Is that you?”

“Hi Xel! I haven’t seen you in ages. Though other than Phil and Techno, I haven’t really seen anyone for a while. I was sort of trapped in Te-” Wilbur started rambling before Grian clamped a hand over his mouth.

“I don’t need to hear all of that. Where is everyone?” Grian asked before slowly pulling his hand away.

“Right! Well Dream showed up again, though he’s a bit different. Dad went after him along with the others and they haven’t shown back up yet. Well, I mean, Tommy and Techno are still here.”

Grian looked at the building. “Techno’s here?! But Grum’s supposed to be here!”

“You mean the robot kid? He’s okay. I’ve barely seen him, even as a ghost.”

Grian didn’t bother to keep listening, moving into the house. Techno was supposed to be a great fighter, so the only upperhand Grian might get is taking him by surprise, which was pretty much all he had the last two times. But those two times might have been enough for the warrior to get his tells. That would make it risky and-

“I’m not his unc- did you just take a picture.”

“Yeah, say that again when I don’t have this photo.”

“Delete it before I make you delete it.”

“Whoops, too late. I already sent it to Tubbo! Maybe now you’ll be able to watch Michael.”

“Why would I want that?”

“Cause he’s a piglin too? And not like it’ll ruin your image now Technosoft.”

“Tommy…”

“Ah ah ah, you might wake Grum up!”

Grian slowly opened the door to find Tommy awake and chilling on his bed, just messing around with his comm. Techno was standing nearby with Grum asleep in his arms, plugged into the charger. Grian wanted to rush in, but his first thought was that if he did anything, it would be easy for Techno to do something to Grum.

“You think I would care about that?” Techno asked after rolling his eyes.

“Bitch, this kid might affectionately beat the anarchy out of you. You’re gonna be the favorite uncle whether you like it or not.”

Techno grumbled, but didn’t actively try to refute it, especially when Grum stirred slightly, snuggling up closer to the piglin. It made Grian hesitate. They had gone through a lot these past few days. And for Grum it had been around a month. While he wasn’t a fan of Grum being near Techno right now, he didn’t really want to disturb him while he looked so peaceful.

Tommy and Techno both looked up when Grian lightly knocked on the door. “Hey Tommy. How’d you get here before me?”

“Heeey Big G. Pretty sure Grum fixed whatever was wrong with me and that brought me here. He did the same for Wilbur and he’s outside.”

“He acts a bit more like Ghostbur did if you ask me.” Techno huffed, adjusting Grum in his arms.

Grian shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen him in ages. Did see him outside though.” He then sighed and looked to Techno. “You haven’t done anything to Grum, have you?”

Techno managed not to flinch when the eyes glaring at him glinted a dangerous purple color. “Of course not. I even helped him out earlier.” He answered, kicking Tommy when he whispered another ‘Technosoft’ at that. 

Grum whined a little when the piglin moved, and Grian took that as an opportunity to take Grum into his own arms. The bot stirred a little, but still stayed asleep, making Grian furrow his brows. “He’s asleep…”

“Yeah, and?” Techno asked, crossing his arms. He didn’t know what was so surprising about that, but next to him, Tommy did.

“Grum doesn’t sleep. Neither of the boys do. I mean not really. They have a sleep mode, but that’s not really like actual sleeping.” Grian explained. “Here… let me test something.” He checked Grum’s power reading before unplugging the bot. They all waited a few minutes in silence before Grian checked again, eyes widening. “He’s charging himself.”

“What the fuck?! Really?!” Tommy shouted, though not loud enough to wake Grum. “How did that happen?!”

Grian shrugged, almost at a loss for words. “I… I don’t know. I didn’t think something like this was possible. I mean… I’ll look into it more later… but now really isn’t the best time.”

“You know, I wonder if it’s got something to do with their hels versions. When I was still stuck over there with Grifter, he said their versions of the bots weren’t built.”

“How does-” “Fundy.” “Right, nevermind.” Techno huffed, finally pulling a chair over and sitting down. “Well I have no clue how that place works, so for all we know, that’s what did it.”

Grian shook his head. “No, I doubt it. Normally hels is affected by us, not the other way around. The Listeners developed after the Watchers, Helscraft has fewer seasons than us. Theseus wasn’t in Helscraft until a while after Tommy joined us.”

“Yeah, but they had their kids back when they were in their previous season.” Tommy piped up. “There was no way for them to make them after you build Grum and Jrum since Grifter was stuck in their season four. For all we know, it works both ways.” Grian rubbed his chin, thinking about it, but then he suddenly started looking around, wings flared out. 

“What’s wrong?” Techno piped up, but the most he got in terms of an answer was Grum being handed to him again. The bot stirred a bit more, actually waking up this time. Before anyone could say something more, the world shuddered and a wave of green light suddenly passed through them. “What was that?”

“World backup. Watchers will do that sometimes, but it’s never noticeable.” Grian quickly explained, drawing his weapon.

“Then why the fuck did we notice that?” Tommy asked, a bit concerned.

“Because.” Grian turned around, wings shifting colors. “Green magic is what Listeners use.”

The_Grifter joined the world

PerfectSense joined the world

.

.

.

Grifter pulled Sense in close to him before sending out a ring of lit tnt that exploded around them. It was powerful enough it made the ground shake and rumble which just made the Listener smile more. “Oh Seesee! Look over there! A castle! Let’s go over there!”

“That sounds good to me.” Sense replied, picking Grifter up bridal style and walking towards Pride Palace. He had a little trouble getting through the newly formed rubble, but before long they were at the gates. Someone in a crown and sunglasses tried to approach them, but Sense quickly pulled out a death ray and shot them with it.

They reached the throne room and Sense set Grifter down. The Listener ran over to the throne and stood on it, a giant smile on his face. “I’m king of the castle! I’m king of the castle! Oh! Do you think there’s one just like this in the hels world?”

Sense chuckled. “Probably not exactly like this. And that’s if it isn’t rubble.”

Grifter pouted and fell down onto the throne to sit. “I guess that’s true. Well, when we leave I can throw some puzzle blocks together for this place to bring it over. Then we can make some improvements.”

“Why not start with them now?” Sense asked, shrugging with a little smile, which Grifter matched with his own grin. Sense tossed an axe to Grifter, who turned the pink metal more of a viridian. “Now, I suppose I’ll have to find someplace to sit.”

“While I would love to offer you a lovely seat up here, the throne will unfortunately have to do. I need to make sure Nightmare comes here.” And Grifter got up, summoning a communicator made entirely out of magic. “But I’m sure he won’t want to waste time, so you won’t need to wait too long.”

Sense moved to stand behind Grifter, putting his head on the Listener’s shoulder and looking at the comm. “Hmm, looks like Tommy’s here. He was the other version of Theseus, right?”

“Oh yes he was. I’m sure Nightmare would be much more convinced if we had him with us. He wouldn’t want Theseus dying by proxy, now would he? And it’s not like he knows I need bitch boy alive.”

“Have I ever told you how hot you are when you scheme like this?”

“Mmm, tell me again.” Grifter leaned back before a noise from his comm made him look back. “Hmm, seems we have a slight change of plans. Looks like Grian’s trying to interfere. Can you hold down the fort while I make a mess of things?”

“Of course. Have fun my darling.” Sense replied before letting Grifter go, the Listener using magic to quickly shift back to looking exactly like Grian, even changing the appearance of his wings. Sense held out a bucket filled with water and lined with soul sand which Grifter tossed an enderpearl into. The scientist put the bucket next to the throne before sitting down on it, watching as Grifter created an exit for himself and flew off.

[rocking-space-dragon]

Scorched, Episode 2 : Mob Mentality.

Heya all! Here’s the second episode of my series of stories surrounding and involving various members of the Dream SMP! Last one was pretty Angsty, so I wanted this one to be a little more optimistic! As always, if you liked it, like and reblog so more people get to read it! 2250 Words/10k Characters. Characters : Technoblade, Ranboo, Philza. A man stands, mug of warm cocoa in his hands as he looks out the window in quiet contemplation; through the glass, snow falls and adds to the already serene landscape, a blanket of white that coats the hills and valleys of the place they called home. The 'they' in question broke the serenity moments later; a towering porcine figure opening one of the heavy wooden doors of their home with a creak, shaking off the snow from their crown-adorned head and off the deep red cloak that covered their body. Beneath it shone a set of deep, purple-black armour, shining faintly from the various magical effects on it.

 Once he's satisfied that the snow is mostly gone and the warmth begins to reach his bones, he groans and rolls his shoulders - taking a moment to put away a few items while calling out a casual "Hey Phil." As he passes. Philza, for his part, hums a simple "Mmm." Of affirmation and continues his watching. It's only when he's done putting a handful of items away in the chests at the back of the room that Techno finally acknowledges the absence of conversation, turning around and resting his hands on the chest behind him as he raises an eyebrow quizzically "Hey, Phil. What're you looking at?"

 It takes a moment for Philza to respond, sipping from his mug before blinking like he's snapping out of a trance - attention turning towards Techno and gesturing for him to come over with his head "It's Ranboo. He's, uh...Been kinda bizarre, lately. Moving blocks around, disappearing into that basement of his, y'know, stuff like that." He takes another sip of his cocoa before glancing between the pig standing beside him and the figure who was sitting on the steps outside his shack. After a moment's pause, he smiles; "You should go talk to him."

 Techno's response is immediate - confusion and reluctance written across his face as he turns his attention back to Phil "Wh-me? I dunno if you're aware Phil, but I'm kinda bad with kids AND endermen. What- what makes you think I'd be of any help to him?" The man chuckles, shrugging for a moment as he adjusts the grip he's got on the mug in his hands "I dunno, but you've certainly got a soft spot for this one. Don't think I haven't seen you walking around with that Axe he gave you."

 "Phil. Phil it's purely practical - it's a good axe, Phil! I needed an axe after they took my axe! What am I supposed to do, just not use the axe?" There's no response but another quite sip as the smile on the man's face gets wider, followed by a knowing "Mmmhmm." As he continues watching.

 "Phil-"

 "Just go check on the kid before he freezes to death out there." He chuckles again, taking another sip and letting out a soft, smug sigh as the pigman rolls his eyes, opening the door and pushing out into the light snowfall. Heavy footsteps crunch through the snow as Technoblade heads through the snow outside, eyes rolling as the door closes behind him – though his expression shifts a moment later as he sees the half-enderman, sitting just outside of his house on the small dirt bank besides his farm. As he approaches, his view on the figure improves; he’s got his chin resting in his hands, eyes gazing out across the snowfield in front of him, seemingly so entranced that he doesn’t even notice the piglin approaching. It takes him clearing his throat for Ranboo to finally snap out of his trance and sit up, blinking a few times and looking up towards Techno “Oh, hello Techno! I didn’t see you there, is everything alright?” Techno takes a moment, rubbing at the back of his head and eventually sitting down in the snow beside Ranboo, looking out into the snow to avoid meeting his eyes – though making note of the fact that Ranboo seems to scoot up a little to give him space as he sits. “Uh…Well, Phil thought you were being…I mean, he figured you might be dealing with something, so I, in my infinite kindness, decided to come out and, uh…y’know. See if you were okay.”

That draws a chuckle from the hybrid, who takes a moment to return his gaze out to the snow as well before speaking “Uh…I mean, kinda? Like, physically, I’m fine, but…” he pauses, going quiet briefly, only to break it by continuing “I’ve…been hearing voices? Like I always heard voices, but recently I’ve been hearing a new one that…sounds kinda- well, not kinda, exactly like Dream, and it’s been telling me that I’ve been doing things I don’t remember, bad things and- and like, I black out sometimes and apparently I do things while I’m blacked out but finding out that I do those things only stresses me out more which makes me black out more and then when I wake up I don’t remember doing any of those things until the voice comes back again and then I get stressed again and- and I don’t know what to do about it or if I can even trust myself and-“ It all came out like a flood – everything that he’d been dealing with for the past fortnight, tumbling from his mouth, word after word – he was only aware that he was crying from the twinges of pain that he felt every time his tears ran down his cheeks and dripped onto the snow beneath him, eating away at the snowbank beneath him. What stops the tears from tumbling down his face is unexpected, to say the least, as he feels something being draped over his shoulders and reaching back, he finds the deep crimson of Techno’s cape, hands closing across the white trim. Before he can speak, he’s interrupted by the Piglin himself, gaze very deliberately averted “If you start crying while it’s this cold out, you’ll only get colder. This way, even if you’re crying, you can stay warm. It’s purely practicality – besides, I don’t need it anyway.” He chuckles, but even Ranboo can see the slight shiver that runs through him as a cold breeze blows past them. “I, uh- thanks…Techno. Sorry, I didn’t mean to kinda go on there, I guess I had a lot more on my mind than I thought! I should…really get out of this cold though, before-“ “I know how you feel.” “…What?” For the first time since sitting down, Techno turns to face the Hybrid sitting beside him – and for what’s probably the first time, Ranboo can see exhaustion behind Techno’s eyes. Techno, who he’s only ever seen at his pinnacle, suddenly seems…tired. The kind of deep, familiar exhaustion that comes from years of low sleep, from experience. The kind of exhaustion that can’t be faked.

“I don’t imagine you know when your voices started. I mean, you don’t remember much, so it’d be kinda weird if…yeah. I…I’ve always had voices, myself. They’ve been in my head ever since I can remember.” At that, Techno takes a moment, looking down at the ground beneath his feet, eyes focused on the snow that’s been building between his boots “At first, there weren’t many of them – they kinda just hung around, and they’d give suggestions and the like…but as I learned to survive, learned to fight, more of them showed up. They’d laugh at my failures, revel in my victories…for a time, I began to think of them as my friends – no matter what happened, or how rough things got, they’d always be there for me, always be there to keep me strong.” Techno pauses, lifting up a boot and crushing the mound underneath “I was wrong. What first seemed like a group who wanted nothing more than to support me, soon became demanding. The fights weren’t enough, the competitions, never enough. I had to be better, be stronger, be more for them – that’s when the chant really began to twist. At first, y’know, it’d started as a suggestion – ‘Technoblade never dies!’ like the voices were beginning to realise that it’d been a while since I last felt the sting of death. From there, it became this kind of…rallying cry. They’d call it out, ‘TECHNOBLADE NEVER DIES!’ and I revelled in it! I loved the chanting, I took it in stride – I became undefeatable, this warrior of legend who never fell. Competitions, I sure lost from time to time, but…on the field of battle? I was Unmatched.” Ranboo could see Techno tense up like a coiled spring, as if ready to jump into a fighting stance at any point. By now, he’s got his hands balled into fists, continuing as if Ranboo isn’t even there “But that’s when it began to twist. I still remember it, Ranboo.” The name is all the enderman gets before Techno stands up abruptly, drawing his blade from his sheath and holding it straight out, unwavering, in one swift, practiced movement. He holds his stance for a moment before beginning to walk slowly forwards, blade twirling in his hand “I was low. The stakes were high. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears…but more than that, I could hear the voices. I knew that any movement could have meant my death, but they were…there. It wasn’t a chant of support any more, Ranboo, it was a command. ‘TECHNOBLADE NEVER DIES’ they repeated, over and over and over-“ he whips the blade around, gripping the handle and pointing it towards the Half-Enderman sitting beside him, who’s hands instinctively go up to protect himself. That seems to snap the piglin out of his memories, lowering the blade and taking a seat back down beside him “Do you know what it’s like, Ranboo? To have thousands and thousands of voices telling you that you’re not allowed to die?” His eyes turn towards the blade in his hands, looking at his reflection in the polished netherite and staring down at it quietly “Sometimes…I wonder what’ll happen if I do die. I’ve done everything I can to keep the voices at bay, but…what happens when ‘Technoblade never dies’ stops being true? What will the voices say then?” The silence that washes over the two of them is palpable, a deep, intense silence that is snapped by Techno sitting up suddenly and turning to look at the Enderman once more “Oh, yeah, I was supposed to be making you feel better! Uhhh…You shouldn’t worry about that voice because…Dream is homeless and any voice that has his…voice is probably dumb and homeless as well? Because…uhhh…-“ “Techno, you’re…more than the voices in your head.” That seems to shock the Piglin. He blinks for a moment, looking up from the blade in his hands, turning to face Ranboo before he continues, shrinking back at the eye contact that Techno quickly breaks “What I mean is…You’re…you. Those voices say and do plenty, sure, but…you’re still Technoblade, right? And…I’m still Ranboo.” At that, he seems to reach some measure of understanding, turning and looking back out into the snow “And no matter what the voices say, or what they say we do, or what they make us think, we’re…still us, right?” “…Yeah. And if one of those voices happens to sound like Dream? Well you can tell it that it’s not welcome in your head – he may be homeless, but this isn’t any place to take residence!” He laughs, hearty and full, ruffling Ranboo’s hair – who smiles happily at the gesture, before they both realise what’s just happened, both quickly averting their gazes. Techno can’t help but smile though, even as he’s looking away…and meeting eyes with the shit-eating grin plastered across the face of the man watching from the windows of his house. He can feel his face heating up at the sight, standing up abruptly and clearing his throat “Well uh, I hope that helped, you’re more than your voices and everything, dream sucks, etcetera etcetera.” He sheaths the sword again, looking out across the snowfield “I uh…Hope that helped. Don’t expect me to come out here any time you hear a voice in your head though!” He smiles, turning to walk back towards the house “You’re strong enough to handle those on your own, after all. You wouldn’t be allowed to be in the presence of the GREAT TECHNOBLADE otherwise!” He laughs, drawing his blade before another chill blows through and he shivers from head to toe, quickly dashing back inside. That night, the Hybrid sleeps beneath a deep, crimson coat, and for once, his head is quiet – that familiar, ever-present voice warded, at least for now. When he awakens, there’s a mug of warm, gently steaming cocoa and a pair of green and white earmuffs sitting beside his bed, along with a note.

“I may not be as familiar with the voices as the two of you, but I can guarantee that it’ll be a lot harder to listen to them if you’ve got something warm to cover your ears. Just remember, if you ever need to listen to the voices that actually matter, the ones who actually do want what’s best for you, we’ll be here.

 -P.”

That morning, a certain Hybrid sits on his makeshift porch, cloak covering his shoulders and back, with a pair of earmuffs covering his head and a mug of warm cocoa in his hands, and thinks, just for a moment, that everything might actually turn out okay.

[mcyt-kalopsia]

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐'𝚜 𝚅𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚗 - 𝟷𝟶𝟶 𝙵𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐

Theme: Technoblade is the king!!! This was just something I thought of while listening to my friend play the violin.

Characters: Technoblade, Dream, Wilbur, Tommy... I think that’s it.

Warnings: bit of language from Tommy at the end but I think that’s it! Lemme know if I missed anything.

Word Count: 2774

A/N: listen I was super descriptive in the beginning and it dropped off at the end forgive meeee ;;; but also enjoy!

It had taken Technoblade a while to get accustomed to living in the Overworld, but even longer to get accustomed to being a king. Thoughts of being back home often plagued his mind, regardless of where home really was. This - the castle full of echoing hallways and paintings that did no sort of talking back - was not it. Maybe home was back with the piglins in the Nether, or maybe it was in the little cottage that was essentially just a shell now… but again, it wasn’t in the castle. 

The hybrid’s days consisted of small-talk with aforementioned unresponsive paintings, practicing his archery out in the area he’d designated for such sport, accidentally making promises he couldn’t keep to the people under his rule, and playing the violin with what little spare time he had left after anything else unmentioned. He enjoyed the violin, and at the very least he was glad that the castle was good for carrying the sound. 

Sometimes, Wilbur came to visit and would bring his guitar. They would play music with each other until one or the other was dragged back to their duties. Wilbur was free in Techno’s eyes, but Wilbur in his own eyes was almost literally shackled to the life he had made for himself and couldn’t seem to change. Life was just cruel, and the two of them knew that stopping it was out of the question, lest they be punished further. 

Tommy was another story. Tommy led his days with as much joy as he could, which made appearances at the castle even more scarce than Wilbur’s. When he did visit, the entire castle almost seemed more like home. On more than one occasion, Techno would offer Tommy residence in the space, but it was always turned down. It was understandable, really, but Techno would offer each visit anyway.

As for Phil… well, he would send letters, but that was all that Techno got from his father. Any family further than immediate wasn’t big on communicating with him either, and they normally only reached out when they needed something from him. Talk was talk to him though, and whatever they needed was swiftly provided albeit how out of greed the communication was. 

“Your Majesty,” The advisor spoke softly from the doorway to the king’s chambers, startling the half-piglin from his thoughts. The pink-haired male looked over to the source of the voice, giving a soft smile in his direction. “A letter from your father.” To prove this, he held up a neatly sealed envelope, the crest on the wax the same as it had been when Phil himself was king. Techno waved the other male in to set it at the desk.

“Anything from Tommy or Wilbur recently?” Techno moved his braid to lay against his back, looking up at the elder, who shook his head. “I see. I suppose I'll have to write something to them. Tommy’s birthday is soon, so I figured I could round the two up here and make a day of it.” Smiling fondly, he moves his inkwell closer to him. 

“That’s a wonderful idea, I just hope that there’s not too much trouble involved.” The older man waves a finger as he places the envelope of well-wishes on the desk. 

“Ever since becoming king, there’s never been a day of trouble. It’s quite exhausting knowing that I had to grow up so quickly,” Techno bites back bitterly. He missed the days when he was uncaged and hardly had a responsibility to name. Now here he was, sole ruler of a kingdom he hadn’t given a second thought back when he was younger. 

For a while, his royal advisor stayed quiet. Though he didn’t enjoy the attitude from the king, he understood that the younger male had been forced to rule and wasn’t really here voluntarily. He did note, however, that for someone who had been left the kingdom unwillingly, he did a fine job of ruling it. “Also, the invitations have been sent out, your Majesty.” 

Right. Invitations. Damnit. “I wish you could have just forgotten about the whole thing,” Techno complained, dipping his pen into the ink and putting the end to the paper. He loved to write letters, they were his favourite. He was rather proud of his penmanship, so that made them all the easier for him. Then again… how would he write it? He didn’t want to be too formal, since these were for his brothers, but he had to keep some kind of proper to his words. He’d fallen so far out of it with his brothers that he didn’t know how to talk to them anymore, and he felt pretty pathetic for it. 

He ended up thinking so long about it that it left a puddle of ink in the middle of the paper. Now he needed a new paper. 

“I told you that I would hold you to it, so I simply made and handed out the invitations by myself.” The advisor chuckles softly, letting a hand rest on Techno’s shoulder, before he exits the room and leaves Techno to his thoughts again. Once Techno got a different paper, he slowly started writing how he thought it would sound best, although it sounded awkward. He hadn’t intended on it being awkward really, but it came out that way and he figured it sounded best like he would sound around his brothers. He made a separate one for the other, then sealed them both up, after neatly and precisely folding them to nestle into the envelopes with no issue. 

He was starting to think a lot about those invitations. It felt sort of like a betrayal, having the advisor do all of that without notice after Techno made wise cracks about having a royal ball to find someone to marry and have rule alongside him. It felt too cliche, like it had been done one too many times before. He knew he’d heard about other kingdoms doing the same thing, and it just felt… overdone. It didn't matter too much, since he figured he wouldn’t find someone he would like right off the bat, but it still bothered him that he hadn’t been informed of the finalcy of actual planning. 

Techno looked over to the envelope from his father, the seal a bright blue in contrast to the dark red that Techno used when sealing his own envelopes. He couldn’t remember off the top of his head which kingdom usually used blue for their seals, but Techno figured that’s where Phil was at the time of writing the letter and sending it off. He picked the envelope up and examined it, then carefully opened it to retrieve the letter from inside. He put down the envelope and unfolded the letter,  reading the words until his eyes went blurry.

Dear Techno,

I was surprised to see when young women started receiving invitations here and in other areas, and even more surprised to find it was from you. Or, well, the advisor! I figured he’d be retired by now, but when I saw him here, I obviously had to ask about him, and you.

I know how you’re feeling about this whole thing - trust me, I do. Just know that I gave one female in particular an invitation. I’m not telling you who, but I promise that you’re very likely to be interested in getting to know her! 

Besides this whole ball situation, I hope you’ve been well and not giving your brothers too much grief when they stop by. I worry about you three a lot, so it would be nice if you could all see each other and get along more often. If you three manage to meet up for Tommy’s birthday or plan to, let me know beforehand so I can possibly show up as well. 

We miss you, Techno. 

- Dad

After Techno had taken in all of the information and wishes of wellness, his first initial thought was, ‘of course he would say he might be able to show up’. Though not meant in a bitter way, it came out bitter. He had his reasons for bitterness, though. Almost every letter he receives from Phil has some version of the same line, but never once had the older male appeared. Sure, there were times when Phil was busy, but Techno knew he wasn’t busy all the time. No one person could be busy all the time. Not even him, and he was ruling an entire kingdom. 

There came a sharp knocking on the doorframe, so Techno turned in his seat. Dream stood there, adorned in his usual attire of light armour and emerald-coloured clothing underneath, with the additional smirk on his lips. “Your Majesty,” He said dramatically, bowing as far as he could, then straightening back up. 

“You could have warned me of your arrival, so maybe then I could evacuate,” Techno replied jokingly, motioning with one hand to enter the room. Dream strode in, looking around. “So, what brings you here? How’s living out in the forests going for you and your friends?” 

Dream shrugged his shoulders, sitting at the edge of the king’s bed and sighing. “Well, living out there has been great, although Sapnap and George could always use a little separation since they argue a lot.” He laughed quietly, a small smile replacing earlier’s smirk. “They’re both great though. I couldn’t be happier in this life.” 

Dream’s wording sounded a bit weird to Techno, but he didn’t ask questions. “Anyway, why are you here?”

“Oh!” The green-donned male went through his bag and fished out an apple - a golden one, the colour shining where the light from the window hit it - and set it on the desk that the king still sat at. “This is for you. You know how hard those are to get, so be grateful.” 

“If I accept this, will I be indebted to you?”

“No, of course not! It’s just a friendly gesture, since you’ve been so much help to me in the past. Just keep it, okay? I have to go.” Dream patted Techno’s shoulder, then quickly made his way out of the room. Techno was alone once more.

Putting the apple with the rest of the golden apples in his collection, he let out a heavy sigh and looked to the clock. It was already past noon. Lunch would be soon, but Techno’s appetite had left long ago, so he figured he could skip it. Lunch was a rather unimportant meal in his day, and he wanted to replace that time with something more fun. 

Finally, he stood, looking toward the violin case that rested on the window seat. A little bit more practice couldn’t hurt.

The sun had set in the distance, sinking below the horizon and giving way to the night in it’s dark glory, stars covering the blanketed sky and twinkling in such a familiar way that Techno could have sworn they felt like friends. The stars had seen every bit of his life in the Overworld, and had never said a harsh word or judged him based on what he did and didn’t do. Although he had friends that spoke to him sometimes, they weren’t the same. Stars were judgement-free. Stars were always there for him, even if he couldn’t see them. 

He sat on the balcony leading to his chambers, looking up into the star-speckled sky, thinking about the events of the day. After that bit more of violin practice, he had been forced to eat even a little, then was sent out to talk to some of the people in the kingdom. Though mostly uneventful, the day had been sprinkled with some interesting events. 

He had seen a child dressed in a miniature-sized cape that resembled his own, with a blue painted cardboard sword and a crown of the same material, who said he wanted to be like Techno when he grew up. The king had stayed to talk with the little boy for a bit longer, before his father came out to get him for dinner. 

He’d also seen a proposal right in the square, which he had congratulated after the ‘yes’. He didn’t really see the appeal of love and marriage, but they were happy, and that was enough for him. He still didn’t see him getting into a relationship of such a kind in the future, though.

He got up from the balcony’s bench, then went back inside. The day had worn him out thoroughly, so he was ready for it to be over finally. He changed into his nightclothes, putting the ones from the day into a basket near his door for collection. He had insisted on doing his own laundry in the past, but the staff would have him do no such thing. Sometimes, though, Techno was able to do it in secret. He wanted some semblance to his old life, even if it meant sneaking around to do his own laundry once in a great while. 

Techno made his way over to his bed while undoing his braid, a soft yawn escaping his mouth before he finally settled in for the night. It didn’t take long for the room to go quiet, save for the soft snoring of the king as he slept. 

Morning crept it’s way slowly into the window, the light filtering through the curtains and painting the large room in a warm glow. The sunlight left even the sleeping king in a heavenly glow, and slowly his ruby eyes fluttered open. Sitting up, Techno rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes, then stretched his arms high above his head. There was faint birdsong from outside, and it was a comfort in the loneliness that was the castle. 

The half-piglin threw the covers off, then stepped out of bed and stretched again, before heading to the wardrobe and choosing an outfit for the day. Most of said wardrobe consisted of ruffled shirts and black pants, which was only a slight upgrade from what he wore back before his ruling, as well as a couple of nice jackets that he saved for colder weather. After putting his sleeping clothes into the basket, he runs a brush through his long, pink hair, putting it up into the usual braid. His mind was still too sleep-clouded to make a coherent thought, so he made his way to the dining room, the smell of breakfast like a lure to his grumbling stomach. 

“Good morning, your Majesty.” The main chef pulls the male’s chair out, setting a plate of food in front of him. “I hope you slept well.” The woman leaves a gentle pat on Techno’s forearm, then scurries back to the kitchen. Techno picks up his fork and knife, working on cleaning off the plate so he could go start on the day’s activities. 

Once he finishes his breakfast, he pops into the kitchen to thank all the chefs, then grabs his bow and shoulder bag with his arrows, striding toward the part of the yard with the targets laid out. His mind had become clear, the tired grey clouds having gone when he was eating. 

He took a stance a handful of feet away from one of the targets, pulling an arrow from the back and knocking it. He pulled back the string with the arrow, lining it up to hopefully get a bullseye. Letting go, he watched the arrow miss the middle and hit the second outermost circle. Something was on his mind, and that made focusing on the target a bit more difficult. Maybe… maybe the ball was a bigger deal to him than he thought. 

“You’ve gotten rusty, Techno!” A hand comes down on his shoulder, causing him to jump and look over. It was Wilbur! “Woah, man. Didn’t mean to scare you.” He laughs, then gives his brother a side hug. Suddenly, every other thought vanishes, and things feel a lot lighter. 

“I didn’t think you would actually come here.” Techno gives a half-smile, patting Wilbur’s back. Suddenly, another familiar voice rings out.

“I’m here too, fuckhead! Wilbur just needs to learn how to wait up.” Tommy bounds up to the two, grinning from ear to ear and making everything even brighter. If Techno was being honest, this was the first time the three of them had been together since the crowning.